Asian stock markets are mostly lower on Wednesday, following the broadly negative cues overnight from Wall Street, amid concerns about the economic impact of the escalating Russia-Ukraine war and the stringent sanctions imposed on Russia by the U.S. and several Western countries. The conflict has led to a jump in energy prices, leading to worries about a further acceleration in the pace of inflation. Asian Markets closed mostly higher on Tuesday.
According to reports, Russian rockets have hit the center of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, and a long line of tanks was heading toward Kyiv. Russian forces intensified shelling on key cities in Ukraine, which include Kyiv, Kharkiv and Mariupol.
Traders are also optimistic on the talks aimed at ending the Russian military assault on Ukraine. The first round of talks between Russia and Ukraine ended in a stalemate. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the second round of talks will take place soon.
Russia's economic isolation worsened, with Danish shipping giant Maersk announcing it would halt container shipping to and from Russia. Major oil and gas companies, including BP and Shell, have also announced plans to exit Russian operations and joint ventures.
The Australian stock market is modestly higher on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous three sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving above the 7,100 level, despite the broadly negative cues overnight from Wall Street, amid a spike in crude oil prices and as traders digested upbeat GDP data. However, the escalation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and stringent sanctions imposed on Russia by the Western countries rendered the mood cautious.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 21.00 points or 0.30 percent to the day's high of 7,117.50, after touching a high of 7,121.50 and a low of 7,041.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 20.80 points or 0.28 percent to 7,406.10. Australian stocks ended significantly higher on Tuesday.
Among major miners, Rio Tinto, OZ Minerals and Fortescue Metals are gaining almost 4 percent each, while BHP Group is adding more than 3 percent and Mineral Resources is up more than 1 percent.
Oil stocks are higher. Origin Energy is adding almost 1 percent, Woodside Petroleum is gaining 3.5 percent, Beach energy is up more than 1 percent and Santos is advancing almost 3 percent.
In the tech space, WiseTech Global is losing almost 1 percent, Xero is down more than 1 percent and Block is edging down 0.3 percent, while Appen and Zip are slipping more than 4 percent each.
Among the big four banks, Westpac and ANZ Banking are losing more than 1 percent each, while National Australia Bank is down almost 1 percent. Commonwealth Bank is flat.
Among gold miners, Gold Road Resources is gaining more than 4 percent, Newcrest Mining is adding almost 2 percent, Northern Star Resources is up more than 1 percent and Evolution Mining is advancing almost 3 percent. Resolute Mining is flat.
In other news, shares in Core Lithium are soaring more than 15 percent after the lithium miner signed a lithium supply deal with electric carmaker Tesla.
Shares in Medical Developments International, which makes the 'green whistle' painkiller known as Penthrox, also surged more than 29 percent after the company confirmed the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has lifted its clinical hold on the inhaled drug.
In economic news, Australia's gross domestic product expanded a seasonally adjusted 3.4 percent on quarter in the fourth quarter of 2021, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday. That beat forecasts for a gain of 3.0 percent following the 1.9 percent contraction in the three months prior. On a yearly basis, GDP gained 4.2 percent - again exceeding expectations for an increase of 3.7 percent and up from 3.9 percent in the third quarter.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.728 on Wednesday.
The Japanese stock market is sharply lower on Wednesday, giving up some of the gains in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark Nikkei index losing almost 500 points to fall below the 26,400 level, following the broadly negative cues overnight from Wall Street, amid the escalation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and stringent sanctions imposed on Russia by the Western countries.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 26,341.95, down 502.77 points or 1.87 percent, after hitting a low of 26,332.38 earlier. Japanese stocks closed sharply higher on Tuesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 1 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is losing more than 3 percent and Toyota is declining almost 3 percent after new that its CEO Satoshi Tsunakawa has stepped down.
In the tech space, Screen Holdings is losing more than 1 percent, while Advantest and Tokyo Electron are declining more than 2 percent each.
In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial is losing almost 2 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are declining more than 2 percent each.
Among the major exporters, Canon is losing more than 2 percent and Panasonic is slipping more than 3 percent, while Mitsubishi Electric and Sony are declining more than 1 percent each.
Among the other major losers, T&D Holdings is slipping almost 6 percent, Bridgestone is losing more than 5 percent and Taiheiyo Cement is down almost 5 percent, while Dai-ichi Life Holdings and Tokyu Fudosan are sliding more than 3 percent each. Fanuc, Toto and Chiba Bank are declining almost 4 percent each, while Ricoh, Nissan Motor, Asahi Kasei, DIC, Concordia Financial, Fujikura and Honda Motor are all down more than 3 percent each.
Conversely, Pacific Metals is soaring more than 10 percent, Inpex is surging almost 7 percent, Toho Zinc is gaining almost 5 percent, Dowa Holdings is adding more than 4 percent, NEXON is up more than 3 percent and Sumitomo Metal Mining is rising almost 3 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the 115 yen-range on Wednesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong is up 1.0 percent, while New Zealand, China, Singapore and Taiwan are higher by between 0.3 and 0.6 percent each. Malaysia and Indonesia are bucking the trend and are up 0.3 percent each. South Korea is relatively flat.
On Wall Street, stocks stocks reeled under sustained selling pressure and ended firmly down in negative territory on Tuesday amid rising concerns about growth due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and a raft of sanctions imposed on Russia by the U.S. and Western allies.
The market stayed weak right through the day's session and the major averages all ended with sharp losses. The Dow ended down by 597.65 points or 1.65 percent at 33,294.95. The S&P 500 drifted down 67.68 points or 1.55 percent to 4,306.26 and the Nasdaq finished with a loss of 218.94 points or 1.59 percent.
The major European markets also ended sharply lower today. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 shed 1.72 percent, Germany's DAX tumbled 3.85 percent and France's CAC 40 fell 3.94 percent.
Crude oil prices rose sharply on Tuesday as an escalation in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and a raft of sanctions imposed on Russia raised concerns about global oil supplies. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended higher by $7.69 or 8 percent at $103.41 a barrel, the highest settlement since July 2014.
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